Not a good idea?

Isn't it unwise to randomly start gathering EVP'S? What I mean to say is, very little goes on in my home. Wouldn't it be risky for me to break out a recorder and start asking questions hoping to get something. Wouldn't that stir things up, possibly in a bad way?

I guess I'm just curious because my bf isn't the sharpest tool in the shed and he want's a recorder to try an catch EVP's. His only knowledge of the paranormal comes from Ghost Hunters. He's low on common sense and I'm just afraid he'd be asking for trouble. Heck he even wants a ouji board?!

I told him no! That he shouldn't mess with things he doesn't understand.

Hiya, Amy and welcome to GV
Caution and a healthy respect for others is always the tool of a wise investigator, you can record but don't bring it in right away, spend some time tell your housemates about yourself and then introduce the recorder explaining that its only so you can hear and understand what they say
Ai-yah! No...smack him in the head for thinking about a Ouji

Ouija boards and recorders are both means of communicating with the deceased, but one is viewed as a portal to invite in the unwelcome, while the other is just viewed as a means of communication. I don't know why one is viewed so negatively when they're both used for the same purposes, but it is what it is. I suppose using a Ouija board is the equivalent of sitting with your front door wide open and letting anyone who walks by - unsavoury or not - come into your home for a chat (or more). On the other hand using a recorder is the equivalent of sitting down with whoever you already live with and having a chat.

I don't see any problems with using a recorder to see what's there. I don't think it will be a means of inviting anyone new to the party, so to speak.

Often something is caught when 2 people are having a conversation and, upon playback, a few words are caught tha aren't from the people that were there at the time. You might try that. Just have a conversation with the recorder on, then after a while, bring anyone not seen, but might be present, into the conversation by asking them an opinion, etc.

Just don't be forceful. Be very friendly and respectful. I have not yet had any real success but I know that they will probably not listen unless the time is right, place is right, and the person is right. Usually between 10 pm and 6 am seems like a good time.

"Science without the spirit is humanity without a conscience"Me“An idea, like a ghost, must be spoken to a little before it will explain itself.”Charles Dickens Gabzyreach me here: AOL

Interests:Serious Research and separating the truth from the hype in the paranormal field today.

Posted 14 October 2009 - 10:24 AM

What generally happens when someone "breaks out a recorder" is they generally use a digital voice recorder. It does what those things are noted for; creates some form of anomalous noise that sounds like a voice. You say "wow, I got an EVP!"

What you most likely got is an anomaly from the recorder because you aren't using quality eguipment That is what half the guys on TV get too! So then you run it through a computer, further corrupting it and making it say what you want it too. Just like the TV ghost hunters!

And you think how great a job I did, just like the guys on TV!

Above is exactly how NOT to do a ghost investigation. Truth is most actual investigations result in no EVPs, no pictures, nothing. When you get to this point, you have done it like the REAL investigators do. Most of us have spent countless hours getting nothing. True paranormal events are rare, but if you're seriuos you keep trying anyway. And once in a while you get real sucess, not a false positive. Not meaning to discourage you, just telling it like it is.